Fallidays : Ash and Misty
by Warlordess
Summary: A two-shot PoV series following a particular holiday season in which Ash realizes he's fallen for his best friend, Misty. Pokeshipping fic celebrating Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, and White Day! Now COMPLETE!
1. Christmas : Ash

**Disclaimer** \- Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants!

**Author** \- Warlordess

**Notes** \- I wanted to try something different so here's a little one-shot series. All contributions are roughly five hundred words. So far, my intentions are only to write about and through the holiday season (Christmas and New Years). If people respond well to the series though, I may try to find other topics to continue adding a Pokeshipping flare to.

That being said, please review!

**O**o**O**

**Title **\- "Close Contact"

**Summary** \- Ash's PoV. A moment between him and Misty at the Ketchum Christmas party is derailed.

**O**o**O**o**O**

"What," she asks but pauses in order to gulp down an anxious breath of oxygen that otherwise won't be dispelled, then continues, "are you doing, Ash?"

Still you lean in as if you can't hear her, but definitely not because you take pleasure in her discomfort. Oh, no, definitely not. That would be so _childish_ of you. But there's a piece of your subconscious that's drinking in the state of her cheeks blotched red, her mouth slightly agape, and her eyes darting from your face to the one hand you have stretching out purposefully in her direction.

Your reach isn't quite long enough so you _have_ to lean in, something that causes her to shrink back against the wall behind her in the semi-darkness of the Ketchum living room. The Christmas party your mom is hosting is in full swing, everyone's mingling or dancing or else taking full advantage of the refreshments table that Brock and Cilan had helped put together a few hours ago.

You too had been doing your fair share of just that until Misty'd come along and started bugging you. At first it was annoying hearing her go on about your monstrous appetite and how you were worse than any Snorlax she'd ever seen. But then you'd gotten distracted by the flush red mini-skirt she'd somehow decided was _appropriate_ for the family gathering, red fabric draped down to her mid-thigh before fluffy white frilling took over.

You look her up and down a couple of times and the sight makes you somehow hungrier so you shove another two or three of your mom's homemade cookies into your mouth with a loud, obnoxious _crunch_.

It's when you look her top to bottom that you realize her frivolousness doesn't stop at the skirt. Much like you'd expect from any of Misty's outfits, the dress features a sleeveless design, and the neckline plunges towards her chest provocatively, more white fluffy trim starting at the apex of her chest and fluttering softly down towards her bare midriff. Honestly, the only decent thing about her entire outfit is the _santa hat_. Heck, even the knee-high black boots aren't helping much!

A few years ago, you wouldn't have noticed. A few years ago, you wouldn't have _cared_. Now you have to stare in curiosity and wonder what she must be thinking. It's _mightily _cold out there, after all, what with it being the end of December.

All the noise, endless chatter and cheesy music and Pikachu and some of the other Pokemon chanting their names to the tunes blaring through the stereo, fades away and you lean in and in and…

"I asked what you're doing, Mr. Pokemon Master!" Misty reminds you, warily eyeing that hand of yours that refuses to stop its tantalizing game.

_Well, neither does she_, you scoff, thinking about the outfit again. But you clear your throat and immediately find an excuse to make physical contact.

"Uh, it's your… your hat, Myst," you tell her. She blinks and you remove the small clump of lint you happened to notice last minute hanging from the ball at the end of her festive cap. You hold it up for her to see. As you do so, the sounds and visuals of the room all filter back into existence around you, the world unchanged by the intimate yet minuscule moment you've just shared with your best friend.

"That's all it was."

You turn and walk away without another word, though the hunger isn't yet satiated.

**O**o**O**o**O**

** Notes** \- The next addition to this series will be Misty's PoV of the same moment, more or less. Look forward to it!


	2. Christmas : Misty

**Disclaimer** \- Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants!

**Author** \- Warlordess

**Notes** \- I may have lied about this fic series actually... I think, rather than it being a "one-shot series" (like **Our Best**), it's really more of a mildly interconnected two-shot series relating pivotal moments of Ash and Misty's relationship to the holiday season. So there will be two parts for each holiday, one each for Ash and Misty's PoV, but each two-shot can be read alone if you so choose. Well, I don't know; maybe I'm still wrong about that... Lol.

Anyway, thanks for the few reviews I received last time! Please take this addition to the series as my response! I have already written both PoV's for New Years Eve as well but may not post them until after Christmas. We'll see... Tell me what you think of this one, okay?

**O**o**O**

**Title **\- "Low-Hanging Hurts"

**Summary** \- Misty's PoV. A moment between she and Ash at the Ketchum Christmas party is derailed. A little more meat on this bone due to Misty's overemotional investment.

**O**o**O**o**O**

Everything makes you angry. Everything makes you _hurt_.

You're ten when you tell your sisters you want to be a gym leader too and they laugh at your foolishness and ire. You're eleven when you realize you have a crush on the most irritatingly dense boy in the world (who just so happens to also be heroic, kind to basically anyone but _you_, and your best friend despite that). You're twelve when you question your self-proclaimed title as that boy's friend for the first (and certainly not _only _or _last_) time. You're thirteen when your sisters tell you they _need _you back home right now, no matter what it is you're doing or how much fun you're having. You're fourteen when you acknowledge that you don't mind this life you're now a part of in Cerulean, though you miss your past life just as much. You're fifteen when you realize this _crush_ you've harbored for a few years now is not going away in your best friend's absence and that it has, in fact, only grown stronger.

You're sixteen, fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, _eleven_ _years old_ when you fall in love for the first time only to be severely disappointed in the results.

Everything makes you angry.

The way your sisters have it so easy while you struggle to come to terms with individuality, the way Ash Ketchum flaunts his stupid Pokemon and Pokedex and all the friends he's made since he left you behind three years ago, the way he talks so kindly of them and you're left to wonder if he ever spoke in such tones of you as well; the way you're sure, you _know_,that he has if meeting May and Max in Hoenn was any indication… The way you know your anger is fabricated from the hurt that lies underneath.

And oh, how everything makes you _hurt_.

Or so it _did_ up until that one blissful, blinding moment of sheer hope when he leaned in teasingly at the Ketchum Christmas party and you thought to yourself how _this _was it, the moment you've been - most unfortunately - waiting for, the defining moment in which he'd finally realize, finally come to see, finally reciprocate…

And then he holds that stupid ball of lint up between the two of you and the shining, glorious moment is over in a flash. And you're severely disappointed, angry, and _hurt_.

Your nerves sizzle with the heat of close contact, your teal eyes bleeding unshed tears of frustration. All this time you haven't minded waiting, you really haven't, because you knew _almost three entire years ago _what he felt for you except that he was too young and childish to see it for himself. _Everyone_ who knew him _knew_ what he felt.

If only that was enough to ease your broken heart; to stop the anger and the hurt.

You're only able to hold yourself up by leaning most of your weight against the wall behind you as your ignorant best friend walks away to get another plate of food from the refreshment table that was set up earlier that evening. He's running faster than you expected he would. He's doing his utmost best to escape while he has the opportunity. It's odd but… that somehow lessens the aggression and turmoil coiling within you.

Then you look up towards the ceiling and take in the fateful piece of mistletoe strung there by some clod high on holiday spirit and you think how wasted it is.

It makes you angry. It makes you hurt.

Wash, rinse, and repeat…

But perhaps change will come with the next spin of the cycle.

**O**o**O**o**O**

**Notes** \- Well, that's that. The next addition with be Misty's PoV of New Years Eve, and boy, is it gonna be _fun_. At least she'll finally receive some better closure than she has in canon.


	3. New Years Eve : Misty

**Disclaimer** \- Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants!

**Author** \- Warlordess

**Notes** \- Somebody forgot they had fics to post. Whoops! Sorry about that! Um, so here's the first part of the New Years Eve two-shot. We're starting with Misty's PoV this time around; don't ask me why 'cause I have no idea. Lol. I will post Ash's side sometime tomorrow, maybe, if I receive reviews. Please enjoy.

**O**o**O**

**Title **\- "Countdown"

**Summary** \- Misty's PoV. Her interpretation of events at Professor Oak's New Years Eve party.

**O**o**O**o**O**

The good - awful? - thing about the _holiday season_ is that each one falls right into a line. First there comes Thanksgiving - dry turkey meat, fake smiles, bad jokes, good intentions - followed by Christmas - cheesy music, the dating game if one happens to be so lucky, dodging mistletoe, and that frustrating eyesore that is the color coordination - and then, finally, New Years - the countdown, bitter-tasting alcohol, late night followed by early morning, banging on pots and pans as the ball drops, then over in a flash.

It's even darker here at Professor Oak's lab than it was back at the Ketchum home only six days ago. But you don't need the light to know that Ash Ketchum - egotistical, dense, wanna-be Master extraordinaire - is standing less than a foot to your right.

You're still quite frustrated with him for his shot at you the other day, teasing you with that tentative hand when all he wanted to do was remove that stupid bit of lint from your outfit. _Nevermind _the fact that he hadn't been looking at your hat up until the very last moment or anything but…

But you stop right there, silently fuming with your arms crossed and brow furrowed, pretending the cold doesn't bother you in your summer jacket. Technically Kanto's weather patterns aren't all that severe but that doesn't make your summer-friendly attire the _right_ choice for the winter season.

Suddenly, something is clicking into place. Well honestly, you _did _already know how he felt… but remembering his slow movements, his instantaneous defense and excuse, his escape…

Maybe, just maybe, you aren't the only one of the two of you who knows anymore.

But do you risk asking? Do you risk receiving the wrong answer? Do you risk knowing that all the time you've waited, more patient than you could realistically hope to bear, is for nought?

The lab is completely dark now save for the leftover strings of Christmas lights winding around the windowsills. The entire lot of friends and family cover the room, a couple of them even forced to stand huddled together on the stairs, as all of them take in the sight of the massive LED-lit, Masterball-shaped sphere dominating the nine high-definition flat-screen televisions attached to the back wall of Professor Oak's workstation.

A faceless newscaster is reporting on sight as a million citizens pay witness to the event, but you can't even distinguish the words anymore.

You blink bemusedly down at the half-empty glass of wine Mrs. Ketchum allowed you to have and wonder if you're quite honestly that weak of a drinker, though you know just the same that there's far more affecting your judgement and cognition than a few ounces of alcoholic content.

The moment is here before you're ready. The countdown starts on-screen but carries across every friend and family member in the room.

Ten!

Your nerves are worked up into a frenzy and you feel your brain scrambling for another excuse to back out. _You're wrong, you don't know for certain, why would you risk this?_

Nine!

The hand gripping your wine glass is practically shaking in furious anxiety but you do your best to breathe deep and steady it, eyes on the tennis shoes adorning your feet once more, your attire today much more casual than at the Christmas party a couple of days ago when you managed to incite that strange reaction from your best friend.

Eight!

Is this really how you want it to happen? In the dark at Professor Oak's lab with everyone around and your best friend none-the-wiser to your scheme? Be serious!

Seven!

But if you don't find out soon, you'll have to wait a long while to earn another opportunity since Ash is due to ship out to his next region to take on a new Pokemon League within the week.

Six!

And what better opportunity than this? He's right here, right now! Just do it, just do it so you know, so _he _knows! Then nobody will have to run away anymore!

Five!

Unless you're wrong… Unless… Unless you can't read the signs as well as you'd like to believe, being the romantic that you are…

Four!

It's over, you're so stiff from worry and anxiety that you can't bear to make the move you've been wanting to make for the past couple of years. Now you'll never know!

Three!

Your grasp goes lax on the wine glass and it hits the floor. Luckily, it's a cheap plastic imitation so it doesn't shatter, but red wine seeps across the ground, some splattering on yours and Ash's shoes.

You don't care though, and grab Ash's hand in the dark, holding it fiercely in both of yours.

Two!

The time has come, this is your chance! _Do it, for goodness sake!_

One…!

**O**o**O**o**O**

**Notes **\- Whew, things are gettin' good. As you may have deduced, Ash's version will extend very slightly passed Misty's, so there will be a bit more going on in the next contribution to this series. Please review!


	4. New Years Eve : Ash

**Disclaimer** \- Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants!

**Author** \- Warlordess

**Notes** \- Sorry for the delay. Here's number two of the New Years Eve Pokeshipping Falliday special. Continuation is dependent on reviews.

**O**o**O**

**Title **\- "Momentum"

**Summary** \- Ash's PoV. His interpretation of events at Professor Oak's New Years Eve party.

**O**o**O**o**O**

You like to make believe you're cold, but the winter chill is the last thing on your mind right now.

Most of the last week has been spent trying to come to terms with that fire Misty's outfit cast aflare in your gut, in your heart, at the Christmas party... but it's hard to do when she's clearly angry at you. For some reason you can't ever understand, she's spent the past few days avoiding any potential interaction between you both.

You think that it should be unacceptable, it's the holidays, but those excuses don't give you the courage to confront her about it.

Massaging tenderly at the place over your heart, you wait for the ache to subside but it's intent on sticking around this time.

_This time_ as opposed to the few times you'd previously felt it, such as the night of the Maiden's Peak festival dance, the Princess Day contest, the mermaid play, that time she ran off in pursuit of the giant Tentacruel intent on destroying Port Vista, when you and your friends met Danny (and Rudy subsequently), when she treated you after you'd been hit with stun spore, and a hundred other instances up through now. Oh, yes, there were definitely more, but you always managed to evade that particular emotion of awe and… whatever else it was… and temporarily put it to rest until next time it came looking for a fight.

But you've only felt it a _few _times; _right_...

You wish you could definitely say that there was _no more_ to it than simple awe, the state of being impressed by someone you didn't know was capable of impressing you, but there was. Even _you're _not _that _dense… right?

And by, least of all, her _appearance_. There have always been cute girls but they never made you feel the way you do when you look at _her_.

Ten!

Of course, you'd love to dwell on it more but the countdown is starting. And you can't help but snicker at the excuse this gives you to drop the infernal subject for the time being. Thank goodness.

… Seven!

Misty was able to sneak up on you and plant herself to your left but you've been able to pretend she isn't even there thanks to the darkness shrouding the Pokemon lab. Now everyone's attention is on the ball dropping at Indigo Plateau and your surroundings are so black that you can hardly make out her silhouette framed by the moonlight and strings of Christmas lights framing the windows on the wall to your far right.

… Four!

Crap! You were so focused on _not _focusing on Misty that you somehow managed to focus on her anyway and now the countdown is basically over and done with and - wait, are those her hands lacing fingers in yours? When did _that _happen? Why is your heart crackling? Why is your head buzzing? Why are you looking at her, eyes wide like a Stantler caught in the headlights?

… Two!

Wait! That's exactly what you can do! That's what you should do, keep leaning in, that's fine, you have a plan now, and then just ask what she thinks she's doing…

… One!

The heart palpitations are back and worse than ever. Misty holding your hand was bad enough but now you can feel the oddly rhythmic puffs of her breath on your face, slightly bittersweet with the scent of alcohol but not so much so that it puts you off. She seems to be saying something but you've gone completely deaf and dumb again in response to her, just like a few nights ago.

She's ... She's really close! She's too close! Why is she so intent on closing the previously comfortable and perfectly acceptable distance between the two of you?

But any other question that may have been forming in your mind or on your tongue is abruptly halted when those sickening hormones rear their ugly head once more and your lips descend on hers. The awkward positioning settles when she indeed removes her hands from your own and instead goes on to cup your face, holding you to her and withdrawing from you every ounce of your sanity.

You wonder what's happening. You wonder why Misty seems to be enjoying it. You wonder why _you_ have yet to come to your senses and break away from her. You can't help but block out the fact that you're technically the one who _instigated _the motion. You wonder why, for all your lack of oxygen and cognizant thinking, you don't necessarily _mind _the strange twist the night has taken.

Finally, you wonder why it's taken you so _very _long to do this.

"Happy new year!" everyone around you cheers aloud as your mind races and pounds in exacerbation, your nerves turning electric in the dark.

They're completely unaware of what's happening... Not that you're much better off.

**O**o**O**o**O**

**Notes **\- Sorry again for the late post, everyone. I'd wanted to put this up on New Years Eve or Day but I was so caught up in old work, new work, and sleep that I completely forgot about it. This is the last chapter that I had prepared before posting but I should be able to put together the New Years Day two-parter before the end of January. This actually works better because New Years Day and Valentines Day were my next two holidays that I planned on writing about, but there's that whole month-and-a-half time-gap between them and I've been trying to post the chapters pretty close to their related holiday. In this case, there won't be much of a wait if I use the rest of January to type up NYD...

Anyway, thanks for reading!


	5. New Years Day : Ash

**Disclaimer **-Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants them to!

**Author **\- Warlordess

**Notes **\- Sorry for the delay. I started a second job as of early January and have fallen behind in basically every other way related to my existence. I eat once a day, get maybe four hours of sleep (and that's if I'm really lucky), etc. So of course writing also falls down on the list of priorities as well. Anyway, here's this!

**O**o**O**

**Title **\- "What Goes Up"

**Summary **\- Ash's PoV. What happens right after the kiss he and Misty shared at the New Years party? Part one of two for New Years Day.

**O**o**O**o**O**

The surrounding lights filter in just as Misty falls back.

Within seconds, the chatter of the new year flares up. Within seconds, your mom closes in, in pursuit of the fallen glass of wine that had fallen to the ground a few minutes ago. Within seconds, your relationship with your best friend changes forever. Within seconds, you are suddenly very unsure as to whether or not she's your best friend at all anymore.

What just happened? Why did you do that? Why did Misty reciprocate? What does it all mean?

Your mother tells the both of you to head back to the house and change, leave your stained clothes in the laundry basket so she can come home and work her magic on them in a little while, prevent them from being permanently ruined.

Your heart leaps oddly, desperately into your throat at the thought that this can't be swept under the rug over the course of time as you both enjoy the New Years party if you spend more time alone together. For some reason, sweeping it all under the rug is the _only _thing you want done in this case.

The bitter chill of January first claws at you as you exit Professor Oak's laboratory, Misty leading the way a few steps ahead, both of your gazes fixed on the path and your eventual destination. The silence is awkward but dulled slightly due to the distraction of the high winds whistling and rustling up the nearby foliage.

"So..." But everything flips upside down when Misty stops so suddenly that you almost crash right into her from behind, her spinning around and coming face-to-face with you for the first time since before you'd left the lab. You're very close very quickly to the same lips you made contact with only a few minutes ago and your nerves curdle and shrivel up along the length of your spine as you take in the sight of them once more, an urgent and unfamiliar longing doing its utmost to take control.

"So...?"

"Let's talk about it."

The words leave your mouth before you can swallow them back down in abject obedience.

"I don't think we should."

One of the redhead's eyebrows creases downward, revealing her obvious distaste for such a reply, but she doesn't act on such things just yet.

Instead she pretends to humor you.

"Okay, Ash, and why is that?"

"Well, uh, it's more like…" you falter, fumbling to try and find the right words, the most delicate way to explain that you have no idea about anything that just happened and you simply want it all to just _go away_, which is usually your last response to facing an unfavorable situation, but still.

"It's more like I just… don't think there's anything to talk about."

You regret those words as soon as they escape the safe confines of your consciousness and float out into the open air. Misty's resistance cracks and crumbles almost immediately and you brace yourself for her onslaught, her temper, her anger.

"A - are you _serious_, Mr. Pokemon Master?" she asks in dumbfounded incredulousness, mouth gaping open for a moment after before she decides to continue onward, "You're telling me that you don't think what just happened back there merits - I don't know - a little conversation? Some explanation? Some dialogue? Do you even _know _what happened? Do you care at all?"

You're prepared for most of her accusatory inquiries, even prepared for the fire in her eyes, for her clenched fists, the threat of impending violence. This is the kind of thing a silly romantic like Misty would take pretty seriously, right?

"Well, it just… is what it is, right? What's it really matter?"

You're prepared for quite a lot, you really are, but the last thing you're ready for is what comes next.

"You're such an idiot, Ash Ketchum! I don't even know why I'm surprised really! I mean, you don't think about this stuff at all! You don't think about your actions, your choices, at all!" She pauses here, possibly to catch her breath, possibly for the mere effect as the guilt slowly starts blanketing you.

You can't think of anything to say even as the fire in her eyes slowly dies away and her grim expression grows ever darker.

"Well then… I think that's it."

Your confusion is probably evident on your face but she doesn't give you the opportunity to respond. Multitudes of questions course through you in the two-second timespan it takes for her to clarify what she means by her prior statement.

What does she mean, _that's it_? What's it? Why is she stopping now? Has she really already said everything there is to say? Why does it feel like you got off pretty easy overall? Why do you fear that the worst is yet to come? Is she actually at peace with your disinterested responses?

"Even now, you don't think about it. You don't even try," she continues in a calm, neutral tone. "This isn't your type of thing so you do whatever you want and ignore the rest. Then why should I bother trying either… right?"

What she says next filters through your tunnel hearing so strictly that you can barely make it out. All you know is that some part of you cracks and shatters, crumbling away with the intense winds circling you… a part of you that you didn't know was laying in wait for these words to ever be spoken.

**O**o**O**o**O**

**Notes** \- So there's that. I'm going to turn around and try to type up Misty's rebuttal chapter right away (I don't know if it'll work, but I'm gonna try). Don't worry. You'll find out what her final words to Ash were… though you may not like them. ^^ ;;


	6. New Years Day : Misty

**Disclaimer **-Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants them to!

**Author **\- Warlordess

**Notes **\- Sorry for the delay. I started a second job as of early January and have fallen behind in basically every other way related to my existence. I eat once a day, get maybe four hours of sleep (and that's if I'm really lucky), etc. So of course writing also falls down on the list of priorities as well. Anyway, here's this!

**O**o**O**

**Title **\- "Goes Up In Flames"

**Summary **\- Misty's PoV. The aftermath of her fallout with Ash on New Years Day.

**O**o**O**o**O**

Almost three weeks - well, nineteen days, sixteen hours, and thirty-two minutes - after your fight with your best friend, your phone alerts you to a new email. And, though you're quite close to ignoring it until morning so that you can hop straight into bed and get some well-deserved sleep after the grueling day you've had running the Cerulean Gym, there's a small part of you that's too curious to do so.

Unfortunately you recognize the name and email address half-a-second too late and click to open it… to be greeted by a familiar sight of Ash Ketchum giving you the same weekly update he's given you for the past few years since you both had separated from each other.

Your eyes scroll through the text, noting some typos (but he's gotten _much _better than when he first started sending these), mentally deciphering what he may have meant, and taking in the few things that have happened since you returned home and left him behind.

He's just arrived in another region and has met with the resident Pokemon Professor over there. He's four days away from the town in which he'll be earning his first badge - you scoff at his confidence here, roll your eyes, move on - he and Pikachu are pumped to meet all of the new Pokemon and trainers and he can't wait to catch his first and-

-You stop there, the alarm bells going off in your head to remind you that you're _supposed _to be angry at him; that you _are _angry at him.

You immediately press the lock button on your phone, place it haphazardly on top of your nightstand, roll over, and force yourself to finally fall asleep.

**O**o**O**

Thirteen days, two hours, and eleven minutes after that same fight, you re-enter the gym for the first time since you'd made your holiday visit to Pallet Town. There's a small part of you that regrets the way you left things, even if the way you left things was instigated by your best friend's ignorance, but there's a much larger part of you that is merely happy to return to your home, your safe haven, your saving grace and to be away from the fear and frustration of _what could have been_ if only you'd had the stones to force Ash Ketchum into a long overdue conversation.

Of course, your attention shifts once more when a random aspiring Indigo League participant walks around you with a supportive friend at his side, claiming aloud to everyone around (only you at the moment, thank goodness) that he can't believe he was just _given_ his latest badge.

You march purposefully into the main arena and are greeted with three giggling older siblings who tell you that they finally repaired the loose screws in the audience seating like you'd been asking them to do for the past couple of months.

You sigh at their ecstatic behavior. Of _course _they'd still think it was alright to pay passing trainers for favors with badges… Well, you were going to have words with them about it sooner or later. Sooner was probably the better option anyway.

**O**o**O**

Ten days, six hours, and forty-seven minutes after that fight, you're psyching yourself up to make the trek through Mount Moon all by your lonesome. It wasn't like the place was particularly scary - hey, at least it wasn't a bug-infested forest - but there were always risks in traveling alone. Well, riskier risks than if you happened to be traveling with friends like Ash did.

Stupid Ash; doing whatever he can to avoid a serious discussion about the relationship between the two of you. Stupid Ash; always thinking about the next Pokemon, the next league, the next chance he would have to try and become the Pokemon Master. Stupid Ash; he never even tried to rectify his most recent conversational mistake with you before you left Pallet Town behind and started walking back home.

Stupid, _stupid _Ash… but even stupider _you_, who had such high hopes after what had transpired between the two of you a week and a half ago. Of course, you'd fall flat on your face after those expectations.

After all, it was _Ash_ you were considering here.

**O**o**O**

Three days, nine hours, and seventeen minutes after the worst night you can remember having in a long time, you're packing up your things to prepare yourself for the long, lonely walk home.

The hurt is still fresh, like an open wound bleeding out, the frustration and negativity at your fallout with your best friend pulsing erratically in your own head as if trying to convince you to do something to relieve it.

But you're done with all that. Jumping through hoops, playing gymnastics. All of that ducking, diving, twirling - none of it has ever been your style. Tiptoeing and dancing around has held you back from doing lots of things you've wanted to do over the years… like _moving on_ for example.

You gave Ash Ketchum the option to talk about it and he shot you down. You practically _begged _him to tell you what it all meant - if anything - and he said that it _just was what it was_. There was no deep secret, no big motivator in his actions.

One brave tear has the audacity to try collecting at the corner of your eyelid before it dribbles down your cheek and towards your chin, but you ruthlessly wipe it away with the back of your hand before it can go the distance and then breathe deeply inward, gazing up at the white ceiling of the guest bedroom you'd been using for the past few days.

Everything makes you _angry_. Everything makes you _hurt_. But now, more than all of that, everything simply makes you _tired_.

**O**o**O**

It's nineteen seconds after your most recent statement - _"Then why should I bother trying either… right?" _\- and Ash Ketchum is staring blankly back at you as if unable to comprehend the meaning behind those words. Perhaps he's so dense that he never even noticed the effort you were making. To stay close, to get closer, to stay connected, to create new threads of connection between the two of you.

Your heart is breaking pathetically within you but you offer him a bittersweet smile anyway. You honestly should have known better than to expect any differently. This is _Ash-freaking-Ketchum _after all. You've never known anyone as well as you've known him.

This is why you don't push him any further into making a decision one way or another. Clearly he's not invested. Clearly he still doesn't understand. Clearly, quite clearly, this is still the kind of thing that doesn't matter much to him. Love is fine, yeah, sure, but _Pokemon training _is still the most important thing in the world. As for love… he can't even be bothered to give it the time of day.

He hasn't changed since he was ten years old, since the day you met him. This is why you know the decision can't be left up to him… so you decide to make it yourself and save you both the trouble.

"We're done here, Ash…" You turn your back and continue the six minute walk back to the Ketchum home. The last thing you want is one of your other friends to find you standing in the middle of the path between the Oak lab and your next destination.

You mourn the death of all that time you spent _waiting _and _hoping _when you should have known better.

"I'm done."

**O**o**O**o**O**

**Notes **\- Yay! I was able to update twice in a week! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! The first part of the Valentines Day two-shot (in Misty's PoV) is at least half finished and should be posted sometime next week as long as I receive enough feedback.


	7. Valentines Day : Misty

**Disclaimer **-Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants them to!

**Author **\- Warlordess

**Notes **\- Alright, here's the first of the two chapters relating to Valentines Day! We finally made it and we're almost back on track! Yay! I will be cutting back to (hopefully) posting one chapter a week. After this one there are three more; Ash's interpretation of Valentines Day, and then one chapter a piece for Ash and Misty in honor of White Day.

To be honest, after Valentines, I'm sort of winging it and have no idea how to get these two morons back together. So, uh, without further delay...

**O**o**O**

**Title **\- "Time Heals"

**Summary **\- Misty's PoV, second person. A prelude to Valentine's Day. Continuation is dependent on feedback.

**O**o**O**o**O**

The problem with your impulsive New Year's resolution being to get over the boy you've had romantic feelings for for the past three years is that there's a holiday dedicated to love within the first two months of the new year.

It's _highly_ counter-productive when you've been dedicating your every day to ignoring that aforementioned boy's very existence... Then again, moving on is also made that much harder by him sending you a weekly email detailing his latest ventures.

You sigh - it's about the umpteenth time you've done that today and it's only eleven in the morning - and slam the oven door closed after cautiously removing the dozen heart-shaped cookies from within and placing them on the stovetop.

Well, they're _supposed_ to be heart-shaped... but you've never had much (or any) culinary expertise, so instead they look like squiggly triangles with a little nick at the top center.

"Stupid..." you mutter under your breath, your brow furrowing at the deflated and black toasty scorches on top of each and every one. And for the first time in what seems forever, you're _not_ talking about your best friend, but rather at your own pretense of ignorant bliss.

You thought you knew better after all. You've spent the past two, two-and-a-half, months telling yourself that you did.

But the passing of time has caused your bleeding and broken heart to mend against your will and all that's left is the hollow feeling of acceptance that your best friend and long-time crush has made his position clear, a position that you've long since known he stood by.

Well, that and the awkward flush of embarrassment that follows your acknowledgment that you did what you always do when things don't go according to your perception or plan...

You overreacted. And now you're stuck paying the price.

"... Wow," Daisy states with wide eyes as she crosses the foyer into the kitchen, pausing for a moment to regain her bearings and then walking over to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water after her swimming cardio workout.

She turns and takes a few exaggeratingly long gulps, eyeing the island you've placed all four sheets of cookies on with a quirked brow.

"Misty, I totally _get_ that you're a romantic and everything but, like, I think you overdid it this time."

You've avoided talking to your sisters about what happened too, which is ordinarily considered simple damage control, but this time there's some icing on the cake because it gives you the opportunity to further deny their accusations.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Daisy! Valentines Day is coming up! I always bake for Valentines Day!" you respond huffily, turning up your nose at the blond as she takes another sip and snorts rather inappropriately into her water bottle.

"Yeah, sure, sis," she brushes you off, quirking her brow and taking in the malformed baked goods littering the shared kitchen.

A minute or so passes as you glare intimidatingly at those same confections, begging them to disappear - for this whole situation to simply dissolve into nothing - when your oldest sibling speaks up again with another of her unwarranted accusations.

"So, did my little sister get her heart smashed to pieces or _what_?" she asks you and it takes every single _ounce _of self-restraint you have to not lash out at her for her audacity.

Instead you clench your fists on the countertop and try to bore holes into the surface, teeth gritted in renewed anger. The nerve of her! You'd thought that, if someone knew, they'd treat you more delicately, but...

Well, who are you kidding? There's a reason you went out of your way to _not _tell anyone, least of all your relatives.

A stifled grunt, "ngh," escapes your mouth in place of the further denial you'd like to spout, tears threatening to break down the barrier you emotionally set to stopper them and come cascading freely down your anguished face.

"Misty…?" Daisy asks, taking a few steps forward until she's right beside you. She looks relatively shocked at the accuracy of her own assumption after noticing the changes in your persona. "Whoa, little sister, did that Ash-kid finally figure it out?! He wasn't _that _harsh, was he?" she continues, placing her bottle on the counter and offering condolences by resting one hand on your shoulder.

The words are hard but you do find them eventually. As you lay everything out in the open, forced to accept what you could at least keep balled up within you like a hidden secret before, you finally get angry. Get upset. Cry. And Daisy, flaky sister that she is, doesn't let you go alone for even a moment.

When you're finally finished voicing your woes over what happened on New Years, she has only one response for you.

"But, like, wasn't he _always _that dense?"

"It's not _dense-ness_, Daisy! Weren't you listening? It's conscious ignorance! He _made a choice _to not talk with me after _he made a choice _to kiss me! Why should I keep waiting for him to finally come around, man up, whatever…? Why should _I _be the one to… find the answers, to pursue the conversation, to… be in love on my own? I don't want this!

"... I never wanted to be like this."

"You know, Misty," your older sister starts with the very same smile your mom used to wear when letting you down softly, and a sense of foreboding falls down on you from above in immediate response. However, you realize a few seconds later that maybe it would have been better to hold on to that hope after all, "this Ash guy… You've totally been into him for years… but this is the first and only time I've heard you say it out loud.

"If it took _you _this long to do that, then why should someone as _dense _and _ignorant _as him be any better about it?"

The tears that had laid tracks along your cheekbones for the past few minutes have vanished and your mildly bloodshot eyes have dried up. You allow one final sniffle before exhaling the rest of your pent-up resentment away and nodding silently at your older sister's rare moment of insight.

You don't tell her that you know she's right - you'd never live _that _down - but your reaction to her statement is enough for her to finally release you. In return, you grab one of the now-cool baking sheets still carrying your crispy black cookies and face the nearby trashcan, using your foot to press the pedal that lifts the lid and dumping them all in. You do the same with the other three sheets, noting how a few of the blackened hearts crumble as they fall into their new pit of a destination.

For the first time in over two months, you don't read into the occurrence enough to find a dark metaphor.

For the first time in over two months, it merely is… what it is.

Oddly, an obscure smile appears on your face at the memory of those words. Imagine not taking to heart one of Ash Ketchum's idiotic responses from that night! Imagine not bleeding out emotionally because of his stupidity! Imagine not having to give up on these annoying feelings you've had for that annoying boy for the past four or five years!

"I'm," you try, the words molding in your mouth into the strength you've been drowning for the past two-and-a-half months so that you can continue building on your frustration and anger, "going to the store. I'll clean up when I get back."

Daisy retrieves her bottle with a grin of her own, turns on her heel, long blond locks swaying behind her, and replies, "Sure, little sis. See you then."

**Notes **\- So there's that! I haven't worked on Ash's chapter at all yet (whereas this one has been typed and finished for at least a few days now) but I'm off both jobs on Sunday and will try to put the chapter together then so it can be posted by next week.


	8. Valentines Day: Ash

**Disclaimer **-Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants them to!

**Author **\- Warlordess

**Notes **– Here is Ash's interpretation of Valentines Day, guys! I hope to have the next chapter typed up and ready within the week! Thanks for the feedback on the last few chapters! Updates are based on feedback. The title to this one is based off of a song I've been using for inspiration for the latter half of this fic, btw. Tee hee!

**O**o**O**

**Title **\- "Just Long Enough"

**Summary **– Ash's PoV, second person. Sometime during the middle of February, the lack of Misty's presence in his life is starting to take its toll on him. Updates are based on feedback.

**O**o**O**o**O**

Two - well, two and a _half_ \- months. That's how long it's been since last communicated with Misty.

You've just finished checking your email again for the third time since checking in to the local Pokemon Center.

A few years ago, when you two had first gone your separate ways, she'd given you Hell about forgetting to call or write and tell her how you were doing. Little did she know that you'd done that on purpose, avoiding contact with her while you got over the awkward feeling of not having her around, constantly whining and bugging you and making every day seem all the more eventful (and somehow not terrible, oddly enough).

Now, however, the roles have reversed. You go out of your way - (well, maybe not _that_ far out of your way, but _still_) - to send her a weekly email updating her on your progress, letting her know silly things that she told you way back when she had doubts about, such as how many badges and Pokemon you've obtained, and the mere fact that you're _alive_. (You'd scoffed at this particular complaint-slash-concern of hers at first... until you'd thought back and realized just how many times she'd seen you put your life in jeopardy.)

Now though, every email you send is left either unread or not responded to. And it's _frustrating_. It's undeniably aggravating to think that she is going out of her way to avoid _you_, no matter how much that sly voice in the back of your head whispers that you brought this on yourself. No matter how much the prominent, instinctual voice that governs your more basic forethought fights back and claims that you have no idea what made Misty lash out at you a couple of months ago on New Years.

All you know is that, for the first time in a good six years, Misty's ever-constant presence in your life has vanished entirely, utterly and completely... and you can't stand it.

The first thing that crosses your mind when you realize sometime in mid-January that she must be purposefully ignoring you is that maybe you should apologize. Of course, you immediately snort to yourself, your stubborn streak rearing its ugly head as it always does when it comes to Misty, and demand that you find another solution.

Alas, the only other thing that comes to you is to... agree to talk everything out with her. This idea is met with automatic resistance as well. You've never understood her romantic side, you've never really gotten what the big deal is about k - k - kissing (though you can freely admit to yourself that you actually kind of, sort of really enjoyed the one you shared with your best friend at Professor Oak's New Years party)... How can you be expected to suddenly know all the right words to say? How could Misty ever think that you could live up to her insufferable, romantic expectations...?

... But did she really expect all of that from you? Hadn't she only wanted to talk with you in order to sort things out? Surely she'd had _some_ expectations, but perhaps they weren't as severe as you'd first thought. And you were the one that k - kissed her... (It's still so weird to think of it, you can't help but stutter a bit here and there.)

And maybe... maybe _you_ have expectations too. Maybe you want to know why she wants to know why you did that. Maybe all of your bundled nerves are just as much from not knowing where you both stand as much as they are from not knowing what to tell Misty, how to explain to her, about the situation.

Of course, it sucks that, even after working all of that out, you still have no idea what to do. And even if you somehow could find the words, it wouldn't matter because Misty has no reason to give you another opportunity to discuss everything, right?

You swivel around in the computer chair that's placed before the public access PC you were using and watch a young man in uniform march through the sliding double-doors of the PokeCenter and straight over to Nurse Joy, but you don't really see him, your mind currently a million miles away, Pikachu nudging against your cheek affectionately after sensing your growing irritation.

You're in the middle of giving him your best reassuring smile (though it feels like you're lying to him and your insides shrivel up a bit in response... even though you know you have good reason to not worry him). This exchange is interrupted by Nurse Joy, who has switched on the intercom in order to make an announcement after signing for an envelope and waving goodbye to the delivery man

"Ash Ketchum, you have a package waiting for you at the front desk. Ash Ketchum, please report to the front desk!"

You and your favorite companion turn to face each other with a shared signature gaze of curiosity before you sigh and stand up, making your way over. Misty doesn't even cross your mind. In fact, you're pretty sure that it's something from your mom, who'd said recently in one of your phone-calls that you should be expecting something...

So it comes as quite a shock to see a return address for Cerulean City on the envelope when Joy hands it to you with a smile.

It's such a shock, in fact, that your entire heart leaps up into your throat, a renewed sense of hope filling you.

_It's Misty_, you think as you eagerly open the seal.

_It's Misty! _you think again, even more excited, as you shove your hand inside and withdraw two things; a one-page letter and a random, small, heart-shaped piece of chocolate.

You're not really sure what she has to tell you, but at least the lines of communication are back open. At least she hasn't shut you out completely. At least she isn't as _done_ with you as she claimed to be two, almost three, months ago now. (A comment that actually happened to cut you pretty deeply, even if you chose to not respond to it at the time.)

You toss the empty envelope haphazardly back on to the counter and open the letter, quickly scanning its contents, your grip on the chocolate growing tighter with every passing second.

Finally, what seems forever later (though it was only a few seconds seeing as the message was relatively short), you reach the end, and what a finale it is. There's a lump in your suddenly frigid chest (even though it feels like every other part of you is on fire), your eyes wide and drying out from the lack of blinking. You... You didn't expect this.

You didn't expect her to tell you this.

**O**o**O**o**O**

**Notes **\- Well, it's really not all that much of a cliffhanger. Based on these past two chapters, we know what Misty is likely to have told Ash in her letter… but I really wanted to word it in a funny way because she's still a little upset about the entire situation and Ash is still a moron… Lol. I don't know, I'm thinking about it.

Btw, there's a reason that I don't reference Ash recognizing Valentines Day in this chapter. Bear that in mind when it comes to the next two, which is, coincidentally, also the **Fallidays **finale!


	9. White Day : Ash

**Disclaimer **-Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants them to!

**Author **\- Warlordess

**Notes **– Here is Ash's interpretation of Valentines Day, guys! I hope to have the next chapter typed up and ready within the week! Thanks for the feedback on the last few chapters! Updates are based on feedback.

Bonus points to anybody who can figure out what song I've used for the titles of the two most recent chapters (that is, Ash : Valentines Day and Ash : White Day). Both titles are lines from the same song by a particular musical groupthat has… sort of inspired me as I finished this series.

**O**o**O**

**Title **\- "Never Saw It Coming"

**Summary **– Ash's PoV, second person. His response to Misty's rather telling confession.

**O**o**O**o**O**

The trip back to your home region takes a fair number of days, even by air. You can't quite believe that the information within Misty's letter holds so much weight to you that you feel obligated to travel all the way back to Kanto at all... but you feel that what she said merits a face-to-face reply.

"Pikapi...?" your best friend mumbles lethargically from your lap as you cautiously maneuver and reach into your pocket, removing the single piece of paper you'd received by carrier mail almost a week ago now and placed there at some point with the small heart-shaped chocolate in tow.

"Sorry buddy," you whisper with a scratch behind his ears, "Just go back to sleep, okay?"

Once he stretches and "chaa"'s affectionately, he does just that, allowing you to return to your originally intended task of rereading Misty's letter for the tenth time today.

_"Dear Ash,"_

Simple opening, not too informative or revealing. Oh no, such things are saved for the finale, you suppose. Just like any professional would go about it.

But still... it was _this_ opening that had left you unprepared for the finale at all.

_"It has recently come to my attention (because I somehow managed to forget in the heat of the moment) that you're a complete dipwad._

_But it has also come to my attention that I may have expected a bit too much and that I'm not even trying to meet you halfway, so I thought I'd send this letter to try and resolve that problem."_

You had _thought_ \- had been told by Misty herself - that she was done with you. You didn't quite understand what that meant at first. A blissfully ignorant yet hopeful part of you had internally begged that it simply meant Misty wouldn't try and force anymore emotionally stimulating conversations or revelations out of you...

But that same small part had been quashed when it was revealed that Misty was going out of her way to ignore your very existence.

So next you'd thought - _hoped_, hoped with everything you had and much more than you'd thought was possible - that she was simply angry and that she'd get over it with time.

But days turned to weeks and weeks to months before anything had changed at all... and then you'd received her letter and learned…

_"I love you, moron._

_Sincerely, Misty"_

"Sincerely"? What kind of closing was that for the kind of thing your best human friend had decided to tell you? It was completely under-representing of the very confession she'd given... the confession that had blown you so far away that you'd easily been able to ignore her usual barbed insults this time around. (Or maybe that was the fleeting fondness filling your heart from the acknowledgement that her extended complete and utter absence from your life had finally come to an end, but you suppose that you'll never know for certain.)

Her insults mean nothing to you now. They merely betray her frustrations over your last six or so years of ignorance. Ignorance that you never realized, never _believed_ before, that you exhibited as often or as strongly as everyone claimed you did, but that has been made oh-so clear now that the reason behind Misty's confrontation with you on New Year's has been revealed.

All together, the detour to Cerulean City takes roughly two weeks to make. You remember what you'd told your traveling companions back in the region you had been traveling before deciding to do this. Nay, more than that, you remember _lying_ to them, telling them that you'd had a family emergency and that you had to go home for a few weeks. Somehow the truth still seemed to unbelievable.

You're doing this for a _girl_. Ash Ketchum, the greatest Pokemon trainer that the world has ever seen (eventually anyway), is putting his Pokemon journey temporarily on hold because of a _girl_.

But you know that if Misty had ever been just a girl to you then you wouldn't feel so inclined to do this...

Time passes and eventually you and Pikachu arrive at the outskirts of your intended destination.

_Welcome to Cerulean City, seaside paradise and home to the Sensational Sisters_, the sign before you reads in bold font.

It's time for some closure.

**O**o**O**o**O**

**Notes **\- Tada! Well, sorry it took a bit longer than planned. I wanted to post this a couple of days ago but I had some kinks to work out in the writing (since I typed it up on my phone) and then… a bunch of stuff happened and now… yeah. I'm going to try to do my best to crank out that final chapter - Misty's interpretation of White Day - before things get any worse/more hectic, but there are no promises.

Darn, I'd been hoping that I would finish this by March fourteenth (the official date for White Day in Japan) but that's clearly not going to happen now… Seriously though; where did this month even _go_?

Anyway, one last thing. Although you can easily find a definition by looking the holiday up on Wikipedia, **I thought I'd quickly explain what White Day is **since I got a couple questions about it in the reviews for previous chapters.

So, in Japan (as well as other Asian territories like South Korea and Taiwan), Valentines Day is mostly initiated/celebrated by girls and women to boys and men. They hand out two types of chocolate; giri (courtesy/friend) chocolate, and honmei (love) chocolate. Now, obviously, homemade goods are better received compared to store-bought because of the dedication and sincerity that goes into making them… but I wasn't putting Ash through Misty's… um… lack of culinary prowess. To put it lightly. So she bought him a piece of chocolate when she went to the store around Valentines Day and mailed it to him… Feel free to guess (as if you have to) which kind she meant it as! Lol.

Once a girl hands a boy his chocolate, he has the chance to reciprocate/show appreciation for her gift by giving something back one month after Valentines Day… March fourteenth, also known as White Day. Guys will generally give something material to the girl who gave them choco - examples being things like cookies, white choco, and lingerie - but… I decided I was going to go in a different direction with Ash and Misty… After all, there's really only one thing Misty wants, am I right? Lol.

Anyway please look forward to the next - the _final _\- chapter of Fallidays!


	10. White Day : Misty

Disclaimer -Just a klepto who makes a habit of stealing all the characters related to her OTPs so she can force them to interact the way she wants them to!

Author - Warlordess

Notes – I am _very _sorry this took so long to be posted! In truth, I had written most of it and then decided I didn't like where it was going… so I left it the way it was, abandoned, until I felt inspired to go back to it. Finally I did just that tonight, only to discover that what I'd originally written wasn't so off-track, so I kept it and built upon it after all. Whoops!

Well, anyway, I hope you all like it!

Oh, almost forgot! Here's a link to the tag in which you can read all of the chapteres associated with this series.

OoO

Title - "Gonna Fall Right Into Place"

Summary – Misty's PoV, taking place after White Day. Ash finally comes around.

OoOoO

For the two or three weeks following the letter you sent off to your best friend, you do everything within your power to distract yourself so that your subconscious is unable to find time to get your hopes up. After all, you've been let down once by Ash Ketchum already and the semi-recent wound still aches here and there.

So you take on as many battles with challengers as you can, fill out all of the weekly paperwork that gyms are supposed to send off to the League, and the rest of your free time is eaten up by daily chores and training with your Pokemon.

With everything on your plate, it's almost _easy _to watch White Day come and go uneventfully, followed by another eight days of no contact at all with Ash. It _is _a little weird, you think to yourself, that he hadn't gotten around to sending his weekly update email to you. But, you know, perhaps after reading that letter... he'd decided to draw even further away.

Your relationship has reached the point where there's really nothing to be ignored. If Ash doesn't want to speak to you even now about the kiss you shared on New Years then he's doing so of his own volition despite being brought fully up to speed.

And you know what that means...

* * *

You feel the beginnings of hysteria start to well up within you and pause in your cleaning of the gym arena floor, gripping the mop tightly to your chest and breathing deeply to soothe yourself.

"Oh, so you _are_ here," your best friend's voice echoes hollowly throughout the abandoned pool arena. You nearly jump out of your skin in response to his sudden appearance. "I was just yelling your name. You didn't hear me come in the front door?"

"Th - the gym's closed for lunch," you stutter, facing him once more for the first time in a good three and a half months. Your heartbeat is picking up rather erratically, the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end, but you do your best to pretend nothing is wrong. Nothing has changed, even though you're technically the one behind such change anyway.

He looks exactly the same as he did then, minus an alteration in daily attire. Pikachu is perched loyally atop his shoulder just like always, but the way the electric mouse is dancing on the balls of his back paws belies his excitement to see you again.

"Pikachu!" you exclaim, tossing the mop aside and allowing the Pokemon to leap straight at you. You both share a hug and he utters the name he'd given you years ago out of affection.

"So... what are you doing here, Ash?" you ask nonchalantly once the moment is over and Pikachu has toned down his snuggling in lieu of sitting on your shoulder this time instead of his own trainer's.

"Well, I..." He pauses a moment and moves towards his left pocket, removing a crumpled up piece of paper, "... I got this letter from my friend..." He gently smooths it out flat and then holds it up for you to see your very own familiar handwriting, "... And it made me think that I had to come see them... uh, _you_, in person."

You don't respond at first, and how could you? You've said all there is to be said and now the only thing left is to wait for Ash to meet you halfway... with whatever reply he's willing to give you.

"Myst, you wrote that you loved me."

"Yeah, I did. And I do." Every part of your insides is on the verge of rupturing and disintegrating into nothing but, on the outside, you remain stone-faced and passive. Don't let him see you sweat, as the saying goes.

"Yeah, no, I figured you did. I just..." He flips the letter around so that he can view it once more and then takes his other hand to rub at the back of his neck, one of his oldest nervous habits.

A very small part of you cheers emphatically at the thought that this situation - that _what you feel _\- makes him nervous. After all, a few years ago he wouldn't have had any reaction at all to such news. Now, _now_ though, it irks him so much that he has to travel cross country and speak about it face-to-face.

"Why'd you decide to tell me when you did...?" he asked next, possibly for lack of a better question to fill the gap of silence with.

You shrug before responding.

"I already knew you weren't going to talk to me about what happened on your own, Mr. Pokemon Master, so I figured I was going to have to come clean first. Plus, it's kinda fitting this way."

"Fitting...?"

"Yeah," another swift hush blankets the two of you as you lick your dry lips and clear your throat to pluck up the courage to go on. Your heart is about three beats from exploding out of your chest but you won't let it do so until you've had your final say, "I mean, when it comes to love, there's no better time than to confess on Valentines Day."

"Valen..." The word dies on Ash's lips, his eyes going wide and cheeks flushing all at once, the picture perfect interpretation of the term _mind-blown_.

"Valentines Day...?" he finally manages to squeak, eyeing you before casting his gaze once more on the letter in his hand, then back at you, to Pikachu, the letter, then finally back at you again. All the while, his free hand is fretting and rubbing at the back of his neck.

Suddenly his eyes break contact and he rummages once more in his pocket. At the same time, he finally manages to walk the ten or so meters between you so that your faces are suddenly mere inches apart.

"Ash, what's going on...?" you ask him suspiciously as he closes the distance. You can't help bracing yourself even if only just a little, and Pikachu has to rearrange himself on your shoulder so that he can maintain his own grip on you.

"Answer... I owe you one..." the raven-haired trainer rambles, "Valentines Day, of course you'd write to me for... Ah hah!" he interrupts himself with a triumphant gesture, going still upon firmly grasping whatever prize he'd had hidden away in his pocket with the letter.

Your gaze narrows at his behavior and you shuffle your weight around and cross your arms indignantly.

"Look, Mr. Pokemon Master, I'm not expecting anything from you, especially not at this point. You've already let me down, haven't you? You told me that there really wasn't anything to say, right?"

"Guh, but that was... that was before I _knew_! You didn't tell me anything before and just expected me to know what you wanted to hear all on my own! Since when have I ever been that guy, huh, Myst? Besides, you can't honestly be telling me now that you don't care what I think, can you?" he asks, faltering in his actions for the few seconds it takes him to speak his mind to you with a familiar expression of aggravation on his face before going back to what he was doing,

"You want my answer, Myst? _This _is my answer!" he states emphatically, removing a closed fist from his pocket for you to see.

And when he loosens that fist, the single heart-shaped chocolate you'd sent him with your confession letter sits there. Well, it _had _been heart-shaped. That was before it'd been shoved into your best friend's pocket for what appears to be a good week or so.

The candy has clearly melted and then re-hardened, then been melted some more, then hardened again. You can tell even now that it's lost its form, small bits of milk chocolate oozing out from a few aged cracks in the foil wrapper.

Unconsciously you scrunch up your nose at it and try to stifle the part of you that feels mortally offended that Ash, a., hadn't bothered to eat the one piece of candy you were brave enough to give him (despite it being obvious that it was store-bought), and b., had decided this was the proper answer to give you in return for the words it had taken you six years to say to him.

"Uuuh," he stutters, clearly also disappointed and embarrassed at this turn of events, taking in the sight of the malformed piece of chocolate in his hand and your reaction to seeing it, "no, wait, that's not what I - this isn't how it was supposed to go."

"Ash," you grumble aloud, "what did you _think_ would happen if you kept a piece of chocolate in your pocket for an extended period of time?"

"No, I wasn't thinking... I mean, haha, Misty, don't look at me like that, I already know what you're going to say..."

"You _never _think, right, Mr. Pokemon Master? Geez, if I'd known this was going to happen, I would have locked the doors over lunch and made sure you couldn't get in here!"

"But you're not listening, Misty, seriously, just give me a second! I'm trying to say..."

"I already know what you're trying to say, Ash Ketchum. You're trying to say what you always do, right? _Blech, love is for girls _and _Pokemon training is the most important thing in the world!_" you finish mocking him, enunciating a few syllables for effect and poking him in the chest each time you do so.

"Well, I mean, yeah, maybe, but still..." His renewed expression of concentrated gravity stops even you from going on. "_This _is my answer to your feelings!"

And he shoves the whole piece of chocolate indelicately into his mouth, wrapper and all.

You both (and Pikachu) stand there in stark silence as you wait for him to realize his mistake. In the meantime he does his best to chew thoroughly, only for his eyes to end up watering a minute or so later and his breath to start coming out in coughing hacks because, you know, he's _choking _on your confession chocolate.

Awe, well isn't that just the sweetest thing (no pun intended)?

You sigh in exasperation and move forward to pat him harshly on the back until he's regurgitated everything he possibly can, then you run to get him a glass of water.

So much for your confession, you think. So much for your love life, you mourn. Your sisters will never let you live it down when you have to explain to them that you and your boyfriend got together after he nearly choked to death on your confession offering.

Of course then you finally stop and realize what it is you're thinking of. Ash ate your chocolate (or tried to anyway). Ash, knowing full well what that was supposed to signify, ate the chocolate you'd sent to him for Valentines Day. He'd... _accepted _your confession...?

By the time you return to the arena, Ash has already basically recovered and is ranting to Pikachu about your cold shoulder from earlier.

"... She didn't let me say anything! What else was I supposed to do but show her, huh? Besides, I came all the way here just for _her_ in the middle of my journey! How could she not know what I was going to say anyway?! Shouldn't it be obvious?" he vents and, rather than getting angry at him talking about you like this, you feel your grin grow ever wider on your face at the thought that he's _right_.

You should have known.

"Here ya go, idiot," you tell him with a snort and an averted gaze that's just telling enough for him to know that you'd overheard him a few seconds ago. Then you hand him the glass of water and sit down beside him with another sigh.

"Uuh, Misty, it's not like..." he falters, coughs, takes a drink, clears his throat, begins again from the beginning, "Myst, it's not... like you think. I mean, I don't know... I don't know much about love. I don't know if I'll ever know enough to impress a romantic like _you_, but... my specialty has always been Pokemon training and I'll always believe that's more important...

"But... if it's between training and my _friends_, my... _you_... then... you win."

You quirk a brow at this confession and stare at him evenly to try and pull the truth and lies of his statement apart.

"I win. Just like that? I'm more important than Pokemon training?"

"Well, uh," he pauses here again, perhaps realizing how odd that sounded coming from him, "maybe it's more along the lines of a tie."

"Oooh-ho, no you don't, Mr. Pokemon Master! You just told me that I won that round! You can't take it back now!" you say with a smirk, standing back to your full height and smirking down at him.

"C'mon, Misty, it's a really hard decision to make and becoming a Pokemon Master is my life goal! I can't trade the feelings I have for that for _anything_!" he whines back, also reaching his full height and staring down from the two or three inches he now has on you.

"Ash," you sternly say and it shuts him right up as he stares at you, crestfallen, "I'm not trying to take away your dream. I have them too after all. I wouldn't want anyone to take them from me, or even the feeling I get from accomplishing something related to them. That's not what our relationship is supposed to be about."

"It's... not," he repeats after you, shaking his head slowly as the hope creeps back into his expression.

"I just... always wanted to know that my feelings were valid. That they - _I_ \- stood a chance... And that you might maybe feel the same way about me.

"Now that I know you do... it's fine. We're fine," you console him next, pulling him into a tight hug brimming with relief and acceptance.

"We're..." he gulps, "okay."

"Yeah," you smile.

"Yeah," he smiles back.

And you know you will be.

OoOoO

Notes - Aaaand there we are! Again, sorry it took so long for this to be put together and posted but at least here it finally is!

I would like to extend my thanks to the people who've supported me in my endeavor of this series (that turned out longer than I'd originally planned it to be by about, say, six chapters).

A lot of thanks also goes out to the anonymous/guest fans from Tumblr and FFN who sent requests for it to be finished because they kept checking up on it regularly and wanted to know how it ended! I hope this wasn't too disappointing! Thanks so much for sticking it out with me this whole time!

… Now what the heck am I going to write? Lol.


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